Selections
by TyKae
Summary: Drabbles. An assortment of themed challenges I've accepted. Individual chapter summaries inside.
1. Table of Contents

**Selections** by **Tychos Kouros****

* * *

  
**

**Apples  
**A young Sasuke learns that sometimes plans go wrong.

**New Years  
**Watching fireworks, discussing New Year's resolutions.

**Telling  
**Sasuke decides to tell Naruto his feelings on Valentines Day.

**Jealous  
**Naruto watches Sasuke eat a tomato.

**Working  
**Sasuke's home from a mission, Naruto's stuck at work.

**Thunder  
**Naruto's sacred of storms.

**Flowers  
**Sasuke learns the pain of messing up.

**Seeing  
**Sasuke's losing his eyesight.

**Swimming  
**Naruto can't swim.


	2. Apples

"Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke stared at the apple rolling on the ground. In his attempt to gain Naruto's attention by grabbing the wrist of the oblivious blond, he had accidentally knocked the red fruit out of his hand. Iruka had given all of the kids an apple to eat during recess. But he had wanted to spend his recess doing other things -- confessing his feelings for the blond.

But looking into the watery eyes, he felt the words die in his throat. He expected the usual yelling of names or kick to the shin, but only silence came. He watched, his heart sinking, as Naruto walked away without a word.

Having spent the rest of his recess hiding in the bathroom, so no one would see him cry, Naruto returned to his desk to continue class.

Sitting on the desk was a shiny red apple.

Naruto carefully watched Sasuke sitting in the desk beside his, staring out the window. As the other kids filled their seats, Naruto sat down and took the apple into his hands.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

"Hn."


	3. New Years

Sasuke and Naruto sat on the bridge's railing; darkness around them but for the fireworks in the distance, and the colorful reflections glimmering in the water. Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder, his fingers twining with the raven's as the two held hands.

"Happy New Year, dobe." Naruto only smiled.

"What's your resolution, teme?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. Suddenly, he leaned and kissed Naruto gently on the lips, dark orbs staring firmly into blue.

"I already have it."


	4. Telling

Naruto walked back to his apartment, tired and depressed. He'd spent the entire day watching people exchange Valentine's Day gifts. He, however, had received nothing. He wasn't surprised, but it still hurt nonetheless; he was the only one he knew who'd not had a gift given to him. A gust of cold wind hit his face, stinging his eyes and forcing him to bury his face in his arm. On top of everything else, it was cold. He hated cold days.

Digging in his pocket for his key as he approached the door, he noticed some objects on the ground in front of him. Looking at them carefully, he found a single rose placed on top of a red enveloped with his name written on it. With hope suddenly making his heart pound, he knelt down to open the envelope.

_'Will you be my Valentine?_

-Sasuke'

"Please?" Naruto heard from behind him. Turning around, he found Sasuke standing behind him, watching him. Another blast of wind hit him, making him remember his day and everything that had happened; making him remember all of the gifts and cards Sasuke had gotten; making him realize that it was too good to be true.

"You don't need to take pity on me, Sasuke," Naruto said. "I'm fine."

"It's not pity," he said while Naruto was searching for his key again. Naruto turned around, yelling.

"So what!? You just get off rubbing it in that I don't have anyone!? Fuck you, Sasuke! Fu–" Naruto was cut off when Sasuke moved forward, slamming him into the wall. Soft lips crashed into his, a warm tongue moving fast work its way past his lips. Time seemed to stop as he found himself relaxing into the kiss, bringing his arms up around Sasuke's neck and kissing back. Arms wrapped around him, hands rubbing his lower back, a thumb massaging circles on his spine. Sasuke pulled away, leaving Naruto panting for air. He buried his face in the crook of Naruto's neck, pressing them hard against the wall, bringing them closer.

"Please?" he said again, whispering as he softly kissed Naruto's neck. Still panting, Naruto nodded his head, burying his face into Sasuke's shoulder when another gust of icy wind hit his face. The arms around him tightened their embrace, almost crushing him as the body against him pressed harder still.

"Sasuke?" The head shifted, turning so Sasuke could watch him. "When did you start... you know, liking me?" Soft lips pressed against Naruto's cheek.

"A few years ago." Naruto's head shot up, staring into Sasuke's eyes.

"And you're just now telling me!?" Sasuke didn't answer. Instead, he backed up, pulling Naruto with him off of the wall.

"Let's go inside, Naruto." Naruto watched him, confused. "You're cold," Sasuke said. "I want to warm you up."


	5. Jealous

Naruto glared off into the distance as Sasuke sat next to him, finishing his lunch. It made him furious how the Uchiha could exhibit so much ecstasy in his favorite food item -- a juicy, red tomato. The look on his face after biting into one was nothing short of bliss; close to, if not exactly the same as, the look on his face when he came.

In Naruto's opinion, _nothing_ should make Sasuke feel as good as the two having sex.

Sasuke noticed the look of displeasure on the blond's face. He said nothing. Instead, he suddenly bit into the tomato -- hard. Juice exploded from the tomato, getting Naruto's attention. Naruto turned, ready to yell in anger, but froze. He was entranced by the long droplet of tomato juice slowly trailing down the raven's jaw; Sasuke seemed oblivious as it clung to him, sliding down onto his neck. He looked up to find Sasuke sucking the tomato loudly, lapping at it with long, slow strokes of his tongue. His eyes were closed, his face filled with a pleasure different from the usual look of primal lust.

Finishing the tomato and sucking the juice from his fingers, Sasuke licked his lips and stretched, bringing back Naruto's attention. He could tell it had worked -- Naruto was breathing fast, eyes cloudy in pleasure. He moved, pushing Naruto back onto the ground.

"You shouldn't be jealous, Naruto. You'll be getting much more than the tomato got."


	6. Working

Sasuke looked into the Hokage's office from the opened door, watching quietly as Naruto busied himself in paperwork. He had returned from his mission late in the night, and was surprised to see the lights of the office against the darkness of the city. Naruto -- only recently made Hokage -- had been overwhelmed with office work and administrative duties in the previous weeks. They'd both expected it to get better, but Naruto having to learn the procedures on the job had caused his work to pile up.

And in the week's time he was away on his mission, the mountain of papers only seemed to have grown, despite the obvious effort in making it smaller.

He walked through the door, paperwork in hand. Naruto seemed oblivious, until he slapped the papers down in front of him. The excited smile he'd expected -- the smile he _always_ got when he'd returned home from missions -- was gone. It was replace with a weak, tired shadow of the smile it once was.

"Welcome back, teme." Sasuke's stomach turned at the sound of the tired, hoarse voice. Once beautiful blue eyes were dull and lifeless; dark rings beneath them. The smile disappeared in a yawn, and Naruto rubbed at his bloodshot eyes.

"Hn." It was their typical routine for when he would return -- yet the response only earned another tired smile, before dulled eyes glazed over as Naruto looked down at the papers on his desk. Sasuke watched as an already ragged and tattered determination began to strain once again when faced with _more_ work. Naruto weakly placed the papers on top of the already impressive stack of work to still be done. A tired sigh, and the blond returned to the paperwork on his desk.

Sasuke casually made his way around the desk, standing beside Naruto -- who seemed too lost in an exhausted battle with his work to notice. Knowing that Naruto needed a break, Sasuke became determined to pull the other away from the office using any means necessary -- he leaned down, and began sucking harshly on the tanned neck.

"S-ah! S-Sasuke, stop!" Instead of stopping, he merely moved faster; he began suck on the pulse in Naruto's neck, earning a moan. Naruto's panting drove him faster -- turning the chair, he moved in to launch a relentless assault on his blond.

After a few minutes, however, he gave up when Naruto stopped responding. Turning to see what was wrong, he found Naruto in a deep sleep -- his head nuzzling against the pale, dirty shoulder. Smiling, he carefully collected Naruto into his arms, and carried him towards the door; turning off the light, Sasuke turned down the hallway leading to the Hokage's apartment. A quick shower for himself, some clothes removed, and he would finally be able to return to the best possible home he could think of -- curled up in a comfortable bed with Naruto in his arms.


	7. Thunder

Sasuke walked through the door to their apartment, shrugging his wet coat off of his shoulders and hanging it on the coat stand. The rain had rolled in faster than expected; had he known, he would have taken his paperwork home with home and not stayed late at the office.

A roll of thunder pounded the room, the storm seeming to laugh at him. Wet and cold, he headed into the bedroom, wanting nothing more than a warm shower and to cuddle with his blond.

As Sasuke entered the dark room, he continued unclothing himself in preparation for his shower. He coudln't resist, however, taking a small detour towards the sleeping Naruto, suddenly wanting a moment of contact after a day apart.

As he approached, however, he noticed the body beneath the covers shivering -- the room was cold, but it struck Sasuke as odd that Naruto would still be shivering beneath the heavy blankets.

Another roll of thunder roared overhead -- and beneath it, Sasuke was sure he heard a small whine from the Naruto. Sasuke mentally cursed himself, suddenly remembering the blond's terrible fear of thunder. He quickly dropped his clothes on the floor, sliding into bed dressed only in his boxers. He came up behind Naruto and wrapped his arms around the shaking chest.

He whispered hushes in Naruto's ear, nibbling on the earlobe gently. As Sasuke felt the warmth from Naruto's body heat his cold, slightly damp form, he gently wrapped a leg around Naruto, tangling their limbs. With a small sigh, Naruto shifted slightly -- awake.

"Sasuke?" He responded by sucking the earlobe gently, before pulling back and breathing on the shell of Naruto's ear. The shiver this time was of pleasure -- Sasuke knew those shivers well. Sasuke pulled Naruto closer against him, nuzzling the whiskered cheek with his own.

"It's okay now. I'm here." Naruto nodded gently, pressing his back into Sasuke's chest. When Naruto's breathing evened in sleep, Sasuke found himself nuzzling his face into the blond hair he loved, all thoughts of a warm shower gone from his mind. He had the warmth he needed, and he wasn't about to leave it.


	8. Flowers

"Get away from me, bastard!"

"Naruto, please! I'm sorry!" Sasuke grabbed his wrist in an attempt to stop him from leaving, but Naruto ripped his arm away. He glared right into Sasuke's eyes, venom lacing his voice.

"I am too, Sasuke. I'm sorry I ever met you." This time, Naruto's attempt to leave the Uchiha's apartment went without protest – Naruto left a crushed Sasuke behind as he walked away.

Later that day, Naruto grabbed his things and proceeded to leave his job as a server at one of the city's popular restaurants. He'd offered to work an extra shift for the day, working extra hard to force the thought of the ungrateful bastard from his mind. But it turned out to be incredibly difficult – every time he served a couple enjoying a romantic dinner together, his chest felt a stab of pain. By the end of his two shifts, he was both physically and emotionally exhausted.

While making his way to the door, he couldn't help notice the wet umbrellas and raincoats. The door opened as customers made their way inside, and Naruto could hear the distinct roar of rain pounding the ground.

"Damnit!" Making a bad day worse, it was raining – and he'd forgotten to bring a coat or umbrella. Gritting his teeth, he ducked his head and began a steady pace into the rain.

He hadn't made it far, when he stopped and stared – before him, waiting in the center of his usual path home, was Sasuke Uchiha. And in his hand was a large bouquet of flowers – white, with a single sunflower in the center. He was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, in the middle of the rain, staring back into Naruto's eyes – a sad hope on his face. Naruto's heart pounded in his chest as he slowly walked closer, suddenly not caring about the rain or being wet.

Sasuke didn't move as Naruto approached him. And when Naruto hugged him around his neck, he weakly brought an arm around the uniformed waist.

"I'm so sorry." The voice that whispered in Naruto's ear was tired and broken. Naruto looked up and gave Sasuke's lips a quick kiss, before burying his face into Sasuke's neck. The other arm came up around Naruto's back – the flowers rustling in Sasuke's hand. Naruto pulled back and stared into the assortment, curious about the large yellow flower in the center.

"Why a sunflower?" Sasuke stared back, his watery eyes shining from the light of a street lamp.

"For my sunshine. Because I lost it." Naruto saw the tear slip down his cheek – almost lost in the raindrops falling on them. Naruto squeezed tighter on Sasuke's neck, resting his head on the wet shoulder.

"No. It was just a little rainy."


	9. Seeing

Naruto kept his arm wrapped firm around Sasuke's waist, one of Sasuke's arms draped over his shoulders as they made their way towards Naruto's apartment. Having just been released from the hospital, Sasuke's prognosis was uncertain -- they doctors were simply unable to tell how likely it would be that Sasuke's vision would return. It was possible, they said, but only if he were to keep his eyes bandaged and use medicinal droplets twice a day to keep them clean. The less strain his eyes received, the more likely it would be he might regain some eyesight. It was crucial, they said, that he protect his eyes from light and further trauma; to maximize his chances.

Sasuke, however, remained his stubborn self -- as evidenced by yet another stumble as he tried to shake off Naruto and walk on his own. His Uchiha pride was making Naruto's job as caretaker difficult. In fact, it was that same stubbornness that led the doctors to advise Naruto taking him back to his own apartment instead of the Uchiha compound. It would be less comfortable, yes, but they decided that the less comfortable Sasuke was with his surroundings, the more he would be hampered in his attempts to demonstrate independence.

"Are we almost there?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded, concentrating on maneuvering their bodies around a corner and up to his apartment's door.

"Naruto?" It was only then that he realized his mistake.

"Sorry. We're here, I just need to get the door open." He dug in his pocket for the key, and struggled to manipulate the key into the lock. The key, however, fell from his hands and onto the ground, ringing as it bounced.

"Damn." He bent over to pick up the key, suddenly releasing his grip on Sasuke. His only anchor gone, Sasuke found himself at the mercy of gravity, and flailed to find support. Naruto was quickly at his side again when he noticed the desperate steps to find balance from the body next to him. It was pure luck that Sasuke fell against the wall, and not in any other direction where he would have fallen, possibility injuring his head -- and his eyes.

When Naruto latched onto him once again, Sasuke was breathing hard. However, he stiffened beneath the touch, and Naruto watched as his icy confidence pushed back any visible signs of the momentary fear. Naruto smiled sadly, and gently pulled him away from the wall.

"Come on, let's get you comfortable." After a more successful attempt at the door, the two awkwardly made their way into the apartment. It was a slow and clumsy trip, but finally the Uchiha was deposited onto the couch, with Naruto collapsing next to him.

"Do you want the TV turned on?"

"No." Naruto stared quietly, settling back into the couch.

"How about something to drink? I have water, or I can make you some lemonade, or --"

"No."

"Sasuke, please..." Naruto started to beg, but got no response. With a heavy sigh, he stood and headed for the bedroom to grab a pillow and blanket, hoping he could convince Sasuke to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. But while he was collecting the bedding, he head a loud thud.

"N-Naruto!" His heart sinking, Naruto dropped the blanket in his hand and raced back into living room to find Sasuke in the middle of the floor, crawling on his knees.

"Sasuke!" He was quickly on the ground next to Sasuke, pulling the raven next to him.

"Sasuke, if you wanted something you should have called me!" Sasuke only let out a bitter laugh, his emotions beginning to shatter his usual coldness.

"I want to see! I want to see, damnit! Can you help me get that!?" The firm body in his arms began to shake from violent sobs. Not knowing what else to do, Naruto gently pulled Sasuke to lay on the ground with him -- holding Sasuke's head against his chest, nuzzling into raven hair, breathing in Sasuke's smell as he, too, began to cry softly.

"Please don't leave me, Naruto. Please don't leave..." Sasuke said in a broken voice. Naruto wasn't sure what he meant -- if he was referring to staying near him, or talking about their relationship. Either way, it didn't matter. He shifted to position himself on top of Sasuke, pressing his lips to Sasuke's before resting his head on the hard chest.

"Never. I'll always be here, Sasuke. I promise." Arms came up to wrap around Naruto and held him tight. They cried in each others' arms until Sasuke fell asleep, Naruto following him soon after.


	10. Swimming

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"Naruto–"

"Hell no!"

Sasuke stood at the edge of the river, tapping his foot impatiently. Having finished their mission, a personal request by the Hokage – escorting a trader to a boat that would take him home to the Water Country – Sasuke was exhausted; wanting nothing more than to return to his warm bed and sleep.

Naruto, however, refused to cross the river. It was fairly wide – no ninja could jump it completely. They would eventually have to swim part of it. Sasuke, while unhappy of having to travel in wet clothes, had found it to be the fastest way home. It would cut their journey in half.

"Naruto..."

"Let's just find the bridge we took the first time!" Sasuke was quickly losing his patience.

"I told you before – this is a _shortcut_. Do you know why they call them _shortcuts_? Because–"

"No."

"– they _cut_ our travel _short_."

"No."

"And I am not going to spend an extra five hours just to find some stupid bridge because you don't want to get your hair wet! Now _come on_!"

"No." Sasuke lost it. He grabbed the blond's wrist with a firm grip, pulling him towards the river. Naruto dug his heels into the dirt, but found it did little more than slow him down – the river was still slowly closing in, inch by inch.

Naruto began to struggle even harder, pounding on the hand to force it loose.

"Damnit, Naruto!" Sasuke's hand finally slipped. Naruto began to retreat, but Sasuke was quick to grab the arm again – with both hands. Finally, Naruto pulled too hard, and found his feet sliding out from under him.

The two went down onto the ground. As Sasuke wrestled on top of the blond, he didn't notice the sapphire eyes beginning to water. Once Sasuke had him pinned, he shook Naruto roughly.

"Naruto!"

"_Please._" The voice was worn, breaking slightly.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"I can't swim!" Sasuke loosened his hold slightly, watching a tear slipping from beneath the eyelids, clenched shut firmly.

"What do you mean? We've been in the baths dozens of times and you weren't scared!"

"People don't drown in those, bastard!" This time a sob slipped out yelled. He watched as Naruto bit on his lip to try and force back any others that might escape. His desire to continue the argument drained, Sasuke rolled over – changing their positions. He brought a hand up to Naruto's back and rubbed it gently, trying to calm the other down. When Naruto's breathing evened out, he carefully maneuvered them into a sitting position.

Gently, he picked Naruto up into his arms and began walking towards the river. It took Naruto a moment to realize what was happening, but he began struggling with Sasuke when he figured it out.

"Bastard! Let me go!" Punches and scratches landed on him, but he held tight – slowly making his way towards the river. Sasuke shivered slightly as the cold water crept up his leg – but most of his attention remained on Naruto, whose violent efforts became more and more frantic as the water rose. When it reached Sasuke's waist, he stopped, and looked hard into Naruto's eyes. Slowly, Naruto began to stop struggling, and looked back.

"I won't let go of you, I promise. Will you trust me?" Naruto was silent for a moment, before slowly nodding his head. Sasuke gently lowered him into the water, tightening his grip as Naruto's body rebelled against the feeling of the water. As Naruto dropped into the water, Sasuke snaked a hand around his waist and pulled the blond close. Naruto shakily found his footing on the bottom of the river, but eventually stood – holding tightly onto Sasuke the entire time. They stood there, holding each other while the water slowly ran past them.

"See? You're alright." Sasuke said while he brought a hand up to pet Naruto's hair. Naruto only let out a shaky, bitter laugh, his face pressed against Sasuke chest. "Alright, wrap your arms around my neck." Naruto looked up at Sasuke questioningly, but did what he was told when he got no response. Sasuke reached down and brought Naruto's legs around his waist. Then, he turned around and pushed off into the river. Naruto screamed and began to panic, but Sasuke only held him tight – letting himself float into the river. He kicked his feet slowly, enough to keep both of their heads above water. Naruto relaxed and rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder. He began to slowly make his way to other side, concentrating more on Naruto's comfort than how far downstream they would be by the time he finished crossing.

"Sasuke, can you really get us all the way there like this?" Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes, noticing the blush across his face. He suddenly felt a surge of pride at how much trust Naruto had given to him – letting him take them into the river he'd earlier been too scared to even step foot in. He squeezed Naruto's thigh reassuringly.

"Yeah. Just don't expect me to carry you all the way back, dobe."


End file.
